Progresses on Cloning of Cold Tolerance Related Genes in Rice

Rice is the staple food of about half of the people all over the world, however, the cold tolerance of many cultivated rice varieties(especially indica varieties) is not strong, vulnerable to cold stress(injured by low temperature above freezing). Developing new varieties of cold-tolerant rice via molecular breeding is one of the measures to enhance the cold tolerance of rice and to reduce cold injury. The mapping and cloning of genes for cold tolerance in rice is an important part of molecular breeding for cold tolerance rice. The studies of the mapping for the cold tolerance-related genes in Dongxiang wild rice(O.rufipogon Griff.) and the cloning of cold tolerance-related genes like OsDREB1A, OSISAP1, etc. in cultivated rice(Oryza sativa L.) are introduced, and the focus of future research in this field is pointed out.